Tag: ASA 104

Guys, 8 weeks have already passed since we left California! We packed so much into those two months that they’ve gone by in a blink. I remember getting on our boat for the survey and sea trial, feeling overwhelmed and under-prepared as I looked at control panels, VHF radios, navigation equipment, and most of all the sheer amount of lines running back to the cockpit needed to actually sail.

Being pushed so far outside of our comfort zone on a constant basis has been exhausting; none so much as during our back-to-back, crash-course sailing lessons. SO much information was thrown at us as we got certified as Bareboat Cruisers. I just had to keep reminding myself that it was like riding a bike—scary and tricky at first, but you only have to go through the learning curve once. If you can push through, you’ll have the skill for life, and nothing can take it away from you. I’m dreaming of the day when sailing becomes effortless for us, but that will only come with practice. Right now, it is hard remembering all the little things, and we are stretched taut mentally and physically until we dock again. At least living on the boat has started to become more automatic as we settle in. It happened so gradually that it took a while to realize that I’d stopped bumping my head on things, or needing to ‘experiment’ with the control panel switches to turn the right lights on.

But here is how our ASA 104 class went: much more smoothly than our first! Aka our engine worked perfectly and I’m not deep cleaning the boat this week. What did we go over this past weekend?

Cruise planning

Boat systems (diesel engine, batteries, GPS, etc)

Routine maintenance

Emergencies

VHF radio

Docking and anchoring under power

Advanced sail trim

Sailing/reefing under difficult conditions

Dinghy operation

Navigation and weather

Chart plotting

That’s just what I can think of off the top of my head right now. WHEW! Now that it’s over, I am so so happy that we did it. It probably would have taken us a year to ‘baby step’ our way on our own to get to the level that our instructor pushed us to in just 4 days. Now we need to practice as much as we can and as often as we can to get our confidence up! (But to be honest, we’ll probably take it easy this weekend and catch our breath for the first time since May 1)